Yuliya Gilshteyn was arrested after spitting on Keren Prescott during protests at the Connecticut state Capitol in 2021. Video of the encounter shows Gilshteyn shouting "Black lives don't matter", spit in her face, then leave–video that resulted in her charges being upgraded from breach of the peace to a hate crime. A judge today dismissed those charges, reports the Associated Press, saying that Gilshteyn had completed a special probation program called "accelerated rehabilitation" instead, resulting in a clean criminal record.
Hartford Superior Court Judge Sheila Prats has called the incident "despicable" but said Gilshteyn still qualified for the special probation program, known as "accelerated rehabilitation."
Prescott, on Friday, said she was disgusted by the outcome. She called the program "one of the worst things that could happen to a victim of a hate crime."
"The justice system is failing Black and brown people," she told the judge, adding: "This is being spit on once again."
A more coherent lesson in justice was taught by the judge in the concurrent civil case, which awarded Prescott nearly $300,000 in damages a few weeks ago and determined the assault was racially motivated: "Ms. Gilshteyn maliciously and intentionally harassed and intimidated Ms. Prescott by intentionally spitting in Ms. Prescott's face."
